CVE-2024-20792: Adobe Illustrator Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-20792 Overview

CVE-2024-20792 is a Use After Free vulnerability [CWE-416] in Adobe Illustrator that allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The flaw affects Adobe Illustrator versions 28.4, 27.9.3, and earlier on both Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS. Exploitation requires user interaction: a victim must open a malicious file crafted by an attacker. Adobe published a security advisory (APSB24-30) addressing this issue alongside other Illustrator vulnerabilities.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation grants arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running Illustrator, enabling malware deployment, credential theft, or lateral movement from the compromised workstation.

Affected Products

Adobe Illustrator 28.4 and earlier (2024 release)
Adobe Illustrator 27.9.3 and earlier (2023 release)
Deployments on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS

Discovery Timeline

2024-05-16 - CVE-2024-20792 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2024-05-16 - Adobe released security bulletin APSB24-30
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-20792

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a Use After Free condition [CWE-416] in Adobe Illustrator's file parsing logic. Use After Free bugs occur when an application continues to reference memory after that memory has been released back to the allocator. When Illustrator processes a specially crafted file, it dereferences a stale pointer to a freed object. An attacker who controls the contents of the freed memory region can hijack execution flow.

Because Illustrator runs with the privileges of the current user, code execution occurs in that user context. The attack requires local file handling but does not require prior authentication or elevated privileges. Exploitation depends entirely on convincing a user to open a malicious Illustrator project or supported graphics file.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper object lifetime management within Illustrator's document processing code. A referenced object is freed while a pointer to it remains in use. Subsequent access to that pointer allows attacker-controlled data placed in the reclaimed heap region to influence control flow, such as through corrupted virtual function tables or callback pointers.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local and user-assisted. An attacker crafts a malicious .ai, .eps, .pdf, or other Illustrator-supported file and delivers it through phishing email, drive-by download, or shared collaboration platforms. When the victim opens the file in Illustrator, the vulnerable parser triggers the Use After Free and executes attacker-supplied shellcode. See the Adobe Illustrator Security Advisory APSB24-30 for vendor-supplied technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-20792

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by Illustrator.exe (Windows) or Adobe Illustrator (macOS), especially shells, script interpreters, or rundll32.exe
Illustrator process making outbound network connections to non-Adobe infrastructure shortly after opening a file
Crash dumps or Windows Error Reporting entries referencing Illustrator modules with heap corruption signatures
Illustrator files arriving from untrusted external sources via email, messaging platforms, or web downloads

Detection Strategies

Monitor for anomalous process trees where Illustrator spawns cmd.exe, powershell.exe, wscript.exe, bash, or osascript
Correlate Illustrator file opens with subsequent file writes to user-writable persistence locations such as %APPDATA%, Startup folders, or ~/Library/LaunchAgents
Apply YARA rules targeting known malicious Illustrator file structures once samples become public
Alert on Illustrator loading unsigned or unexpected DLLs and dynamic libraries

Monitoring Recommendations

Ingest endpoint process telemetry into a centralized data lake to correlate Illustrator behavior across the fleet
Track Illustrator version inventory to identify hosts still running vulnerable builds prior to Adobe's fixed releases
Enable memory integrity and exploit protection telemetry on workstations where Illustrator is installed
Baseline normal Illustrator network and file-system behavior to surface deviations after a malicious document is opened

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-20792

Immediate Actions Required

Update Adobe Illustrator to the patched versions listed in APSB24-30 on all Windows and macOS endpoints
Inventory workstations running Illustrator 28.4, 27.9.3, or earlier and prioritize them for remediation
Instruct users to open Illustrator files only from trusted sources and to report unexpected .ai or .eps attachments
Enable operating system exploit mitigations such as Control Flow Guard on Windows and Hardened Runtime on macOS

Patch Information

Adobe addressed CVE-2024-20792 in the security update documented in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB24-30. Illustrator 2024 users should upgrade beyond version 28.4, and Illustrator 2023 users should upgrade beyond version 27.9.3. Apply the update through the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or via enterprise deployment tooling such as the Adobe Admin Console.

Workarounds

Block inbound Illustrator file types at email gateways for users who do not require them
Restrict Illustrator execution to non-administrative accounts to limit post-exploitation impact
Use application allowlisting to prevent Illustrator from launching unauthorized child processes
Isolate design workstations from sensitive network segments until patches are applied

bash

# Query installed Adobe Illustrator version on Windows
Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*" |
  Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like "*Illustrator*" } |
  Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, InstallLocation

# Query installed Adobe Illustrator version on macOS
mdls -name kMDItemVersion "/Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2024/Adobe Illustrator.app"